“WE, THE PEOPLE OF THE GREAT LAKES, LOVE AND DEPEND UPON OUR WATERS TO SUSTAIN OUR LIVES, OUR COMMUNITIES AND ALL LIFE IN OUR ECOSYSTEM.”
That is the first line of the Great Lakes Charter Declaration, a 2014 collaborative effort that lays the foundation for protecting the waters as a sacred trust and shared commons. "We, the people of the Great Lakes" have many differences but we all depend upon the Great Lakes for our life, livelihoods, and identities.
The Charter needs to reflect and celebrate the people it represents as much as possible. One way to do this is through language. That’s why we have been working to translate the Charter into different languages this year. We are now happy to share the French version of Great Lakes Commons Charter or Charte des Communs des Grands Lacs.
We are grateful to Morgane Kot and Christopher Reynolds for their work since this translation would not have been possibly without their help. We want more Charter translations that reflect "we, the people of the Great Lakes." Get in touch if this interests you.
You can also download the French language Charter here.
